


The Color And the Shape

by gehirnstuerm



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: M/M, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-05
Updated: 2011-05-05
Packaged: 2017-10-19 00:50:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/195071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gehirnstuerm/pseuds/gehirnstuerm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny finds out about Steve's new tattoo. The discovery affects him more than expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Color And the Shape

**Author's Note:**

> What can I say? I'm still very much in love with [Alex O'Loughlin's new back tattoo](http://alexoloughlinrocks.com/galleries/v/candids/2011/hawaii_04/aol_hi_020411_09c.jpg.html) and I think it would be great to see it on Steve. I'm sure I'm not the only one! Huge thanks to **wattle_neurotic** for the speedy past-her-bedtime beta. Time zones are so inconvenient!

Something is up with Steve, Danny is sure of it. Steve tries to hide it, but Danny is a detective and a damn good one to boot; few things escape his notice when it comes to his partner. Granted, he tends to watch Steve very closely and he definitely pays more attention to him than he probably should, but that isn’t the point. The point is, he couldn’t miss a couple of things. Tiny details, he definitely wouldn’t have noticed if he weren’t inappropriately interested in everything Steve McGarrett.

It’s the way Steve moves today. There’s a tiny hint of stiffness in his gait that’s more pronounced when Steve gets out of the car or out of a chair, but fades the longer he’s been moving. Sometimes, when Steve thinks Danny isn’t looking, he seems to be shifting uncomfortably and once in a while one of his hands moves to tug at the back of his shirt or adjust the waistband of his pants.

Danny is starting to get worried. Steve doesn’t really seem to be in pain, but you never know with this lunatic. For all Danny knows, Steve could be in serious need of spinal surgery and still insist he was fine. The thought isn’t reassuring at all. If Steve has really injured himself, it couldn’t have happened on a case. He seemed to be fine on Saturday and the criminals of Hawaii actually behaved themselves over the rest of the weekend, so they could at least enjoy a peaceful Sunday. Danny has no idea what Steve has been up to, though. Being the crazy ninja he is, Steve probably hasn’t spent it lazy on the couch. As far as Danny knows, Steve’s idea of relaxation is pretty contrary to his own. When this crazy man wants to relax, he probably spends some time at a shooting range, swims for hours in the ocean or goes rock climbing. Possibly all of the above. Enough chances to get injured in any case.

Danny has been monitoring Steve’s every move all day and when Steve lowers himself into his office chair a little gingerly, he can’t take it anymore.

“Okay, I’ve seen enough. What’s up with you?” Danny snaps, gesturing vaguely towards Steve.

Steve seems genuinely confused for a moment, a frown appearing on his face. “What are you talking about?”

Danny heaves an exasperated sigh. “Do you think I’m blind? You’re hurting and you’re trying to hide it!”

“Oh!” Steve says, his eyebrows shooting up. “I didn’t think you’d notice. It’s nothing.”

Danny snorts. “Don’t tell me it’s nothing, Steven. What is it? What? Did you fall on your ass in the shower and now you’re too embarrassed to admit it?” Steve actually has the nerve to roll his eyes at him, which makes Danny huff. “What? I’m not kidding here! If you’re injured I want to know, so I can decide if I have to drag your ass to the ER. You clearly can’t be trusted when it comes to these things!”

His worry must be showing, because Steve’s expression softens a little. “Danny, I swear it’s nothing.” He hesitates for a moment before he goes on. “It’s a tattoo, okay? It’s still fresh, so it’s a bit uncomfortable. Nothing to worry about.”

Steve looks at Danny curiously, like he’s expecting him to launch one of his tirades at him, but Danny’s mind has stuttered to a halt.

“Oh. Okay.” Danny says eloquently before he blinks a few times and makes a hasty retreat to his own office.

Danny leans heavily against the door and curses under his breath. What the hell was that? He’s pretty sure that wasn’t even close to a normal response to your partner having a new tattoo. Danny knows he should have made a snarky comment, that would have been normal. At the very least he should have asked what it was. That’s what you do if a friend tells you about their new ink, right? Danny scrubs a hand over his face and curses again. He really should have asked. Now he’ll have to imagine what could or could not be on Steve’s skin, how big his new tattoo is and where exactly it’s located.

From the way his heart is starting to beat faster at the mere thought, Danny knows it’s going to drive him insane.

 

***

 

His assessment proves to be true when Danny spends day after day watching his partner even more closely than usual and wondering about Steve’s tattoo - as if the bastard wasn’t distracting enough without possibly sexy mystery ink for Danny to obsess over. And this is definitely turning into an obsession, Danny is well aware of that.

Imagining Steve with tattoos in varying shapes and sizes has become his favorite hobby. From the way Steve has been moving, Danny is pretty sure the new tattoo must be either on the small of Steve’s back or even lower, over his tailbone, like a tramp stamp. And that’s a thought that should be ridiculous, but God help him, Danny doesn’t laugh. Not one bit. In fact, Danny likes thinking about it in the shower or before he goes to sleep and he may even jerk off to the imagery once in a while. Okay, who is he trying to fool here? He does it every single night and occasionally in the morning, which is why he sometimes has a hard time looking Steve in the eye.

Danny needs to know more about the damn tattoo, he needs to know what it is, where it is, he needs to see it. Simply asking seems out of question now, after all the time he’s spent fantasizing about it. Danny was kind of hoping he would be able to sneak a look at it eventually, but you can trust McGarrett not to take his stupid shirt off when it counts.

It’s been almost two weeks since Steve has mentioned the tattoo - two very, very torturous weeks for Danny. He’d thought he’d get over it after a while, forget that Steve was hiding something underneath the fabric of his shirt, but of course Danny isn’t this lucky.

He has always watched and enjoyed the view whenever Steve bent down, stretched the muscles in his back or reached up for some reason, but now Danny pays extra attention in the hope Steve’s shirt will ride up a few inches.

When it finally happens, it still catches Danny by surprise.

It’s at a crime scene, of all places. Crouching on the floor to collect evidence, Steve is leaning forward... and there it is. Danny can hardly suppress a sharp intake of breath when his gaze falls onto the inch of revealed skin over the waistband of Steve’s cargos. It isn’t much, but from what he can see, Danny can tell that the tattoo is definitely not a small one. The intricate lines stretch over the entire width of Steve’s body. They’re mostly black and gray, but Danny can also make out a dash of color, before Steve sits back on his heels and his shirt slides back in place.

Danny doesn’t really know whether this should make him happy or sad.

 

***

 

It was a long, very long day. The case wasn’t a particularly hard one and there weren’t any lives at stake, but they had to go through lots and lots of files. Tedious work that gave Danny’s mind more than enough opportunities to stray back to Steve and the lines on his back.

Danny should really go home.

Chin and Kono have already left half an hour ago and Danny doesn’t even know why he and Steve haven’t gotten their asses out of HQ yet. They’re still in the conference room, half sitting on the edge of the computer table, and Danny pretends to be listening to the anecdote Steve is telling. He’s sure it’s a fun story, something about Steve’s time in high school and usually Danny wouldn’t miss an opportunity to get some details about Steve as a dorky teenager, but it’s really hard to focus right now. Danny’s mind is still busy trying to imagine the rest of Steve’s tattoo, the patterns it might form and how far it might extend...

“How big is it?” Danny suddenly blurts and winces as soon as the words have left his lips. Great, not only his sanity is in danger, but his brain-to-mouth filter is broken, too.

“What?” Steve blinks.

Danny can feel his cheeks heat up. “Your new tattoo.” he admits. “I could see parts of it earlier. How big is it?”

Steve lifts an eyebrow and tilts his head. “Want to take a look?”

Danny’s heart skips a beat. “Yeah, uhm, sure...” he says, even though he doesn’t know if and how he’s going to survive this.

Steve on the other hand just gives him a little smile, pushes off the table and turns around. When Danny does the same and hesitantly stands behind him, Steve just strips off his shirt as if this was the easiest thing in the world.

For a moment, all Danny can do is stare.

The tattoo is big, much bigger than he’d thought and there’s no way that Steve has gotten all of this done in one sitting. It covers almost the entire small of Steve’s back and parts of it even extend over his hips. The discovery makes Danny’s mouth go dry.

It’s so much more than he’d expected and he really, really likes what he’s seeing. The light in the conference room isn’t the best and Danny doesn’t have a clue about tattoo designs anyway, but he can make out several circular patterns and woven arches. They all surround some kind of figure in the middle, but Danny can’t quite recognize what it is. Most of it is still hidden by Steve’s pants and more than ever Danny wants to know how far down below the patterns go.

Danny draws a shuddering breath. He should go. He should compliment Steve on his well-done tattoo and then get the hell out of here, before he does something he might regret later.

But he can’t move, he’s transfixed by the lines on Steve’s skin and Danny has no idea how long he’s been staring at his partner’s naked back. Longer than it’s appropriate, that’s for sure, but Steve has neither moved nor said anything. He just stands perfectly still and lets Danny’s eyes roam over him, as if he knows how much Danny is enjoying the view. And maybe he does.

It’s like the air is charged with electricity all of a sudden and Danny’s hand seems to move on its own accord. Before he knows what he’s doing, his fingertips are brushing Steve’s skin. It’s a very light touch, but Danny can feel Steve tense a little.

“Does it still hurt?” Danny asks, his voice hoarse.

Steve turns his head slightly and Danny can see his eyes are closed. “No...” he says in a low rumble. “Go on.”

Danny’s breath catches. Steve has not only given him permission to touch, he has asked him to. The realization makes Danny a little light-headed.

There is a light tremble in his hands when he reaches out again. Steve’s breath audibly hitches at the touch and that’s all the encouragement Danny needs. He starts tracing the outlines of Steve’s tattoo, lets his fingertips glide over the incredibly soft skin, still new and tender, feels the strong muscles underneath. Danny’s knuckles skim over the waistband of Steve’s cargos, before his hands come to rest on Steve’s hips, thumbs caressing the inked skin.

A little gasp from Steve makes Danny’s pulse quicken even more. It’s true, Steve will give him a heart-attack one day, there isn’t any doubt about it anymore; but right now, Danny couldn’t care less. The whole situation is surreal, but Danny has never been so turned on by so little in his life. It’s almost like a dream and he’s afraid to say or do something that will break the spell.

Slowly and carefully, Danny slides his hands a little forward until he can feel the dips of Steve’s hips. There’s a sharp intake of breath and suddenly Steve’s hands are covering his. Danny freezes, afraid he’s ruined everything, but Steve isn’t stopping him. Steve just leaves his hands on Danny’s for a moment and Danny feels more than hears him draw a shuddering breath. He doesn’t dare to move until Steve lets his hands drop and braces them on the computer table in front of him.

They have been standing close anyway, but thanks to the shift in position, Steve’s ass is now pressed against Danny’s front. Danny curses under his breath, his hands tightening on Steve’s hips. There’s no way Steve can’t feel his hard-on against his thigh, despite the several layers of fabric and Danny can’t help pushing a little, desperate for some friction. He lets his hands slide forward and is rewarded with a low moan when he palms Steve’s erection through his pants.

This is a really bad idea, it’s neither the right time not the right place, but Danny couldn’t care less. Steve is half-naked and panting and he’s right there in front of him - there’s only so much self-control Danny can muster. And then Steve rolls his hips a little and all reasonable thought goes right out the window. Danny blindly fumbles with the fly of Steve’s pants and pushes a hand inside his boxers.

“Fuck...” Steve grits out when Danny gets his hand around him and Danny could come from the sound of Steve’s voice alone.

Rocking against Steve isn’t enough, he needs more, so Danny reaches between them with his free hand and hurriedly undoes his own pants. Jerking off with his left is a little awkward, but Danny doesn’t care, especially not when Steve reaches behind his back and covers Danny’s hand with his own.

And that’s apparently all it takes to send Danny over the edge.

 

***

 

When Danny comes back to his senses, his face is resting on Steve’s back and both his hands are considerably sticky. He would be embarrassed by the fact that he just came in his pants like a school boy, but Steve evidently didn’t fare any better and his breathing is as labored as Danny’s. In this regard, they’re definitely in the same boat.

As for everything else... well, things could get really awkward in the next couple of minutes. Danny still hasn’t decided whether or not to freak out, when a laugh rumbles through Steve’s body.

“Why are you laughing?” Danny mumbles against Steve’s skin, but Steve’s only answer is more laughing.

Danny huffs and finally pulls his hands free. He grimaces at the mess and wipes his fingers on Steve’s pants without further ado. Steve’s indignant little yelp is highly satisfying.

“What was so funny, Steven? Tell me!” Danny pushes himself to an upright position and turns, so he’s leaning against the table next to Steve.

Steve’s arms are still braced on the table and when he lifts his head to look at Danny, there’s a mischievous grin on his features. He looks like a very adorable porn star - and that is just wrong.

“Nothing!” Steve snorts. “It’s just... Chin would kill us if he knew what we just did with his precious computer table.”

Danny groans and rubs a hand over his face. “That is true. But actually it got off lightly.” Danny pauses to aim a challenging grin at Steve. “I could think of a few more ways to put this thing to good use.”

“Oh, you need to tell me all about it.” Steve murmurs. “But we forgot something earlier... something very important...”

And with that, Steve slides a hand in Danny’s hair and moves in for their first kiss.


End file.
